Cheng Chen blinked his big eyes, feeling no guilt. "I never do bad things."
"Then I heard you bullied Jia Yao again last time," Cheng Xu chuckled.
"I don't know what to say about that Jia Yao. Maybe because her surname is Jia, she is fake too. When I went to the city primary school, she insisted on transferring there. Now that I got into the city middle school, she got lucky and passed too, even though she was last. I don't know why she keeps following me," Cheng Chen sighed, looking helpless.
"I think Jia Yao really likes you," Cheng Xu said with a hint of schadenfreude.
Although Cheng Chen was only fourteen, she understood such teasing. she glared at Cheng Xu. "I tell you, even if she gave herself to me for free, I wouldn't take her. Don't talk nonsense. Are we still brothers or not?"
"Yes, yes. It’s my fault. I won’t say it again," Cheng Xu apologized quickly, seeing Cheng Chen was truly annoyed.
Zhu Yanyi watched from the side and laughed. "This Jia Yao seems to be a year older than Brother Cheng Chen. She is fifteen now, right?" In the past, girls could marry at eighteen. Now that the college entrance exam had resumed, people usually married after twenty. Zhu Yanyi couldn't believe Jia Yao was so mature at fifteen, thinking about her life大事 (major matters).
"Exactly," Cheng Chen nodded. "I only just finished primary school because I took a year off for the special gifted class training. She actually repeated a year on her own. I wonder how her brain works. She isn't stupid, yet she barely passed into the city middle school." Cheng Chen was sensitive to math, so her family sent her to a special gifted class for a year to nurture her talent.
Zhu Yanyi shrugged. She didn't like Jia Yao either. She was too dramatic. Zhu Yanyi never liked such people. However, if one wanted to watch a show, such people were the best actors. Zhu Yanyi remembered the first time she met Jia Yao; she acted like a pure, innocent flower. They didn't talk much now, but her innocent act remained unchanged.
Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli had finished all preparations. They would leave for Yao City in two days. Before departing, they needed to bid farewell to many elders, a courtesy for juniors traveling. Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli went to Zhu Enfu’s house first. Zhu Enfu knew they were going to Yao City for school. She smiled warmly. "Your parents are finally out. Study hard. An Nian, try to get into university soon. An Ni, try to get into high school soon, and then university. Grandpa doesn’t have much to give you. These two red envelopes are for your journey." She handed two red-paper-wrapped envelopes to Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli. They thanked her and accepted them.
The journey red envelope was a local custom, a blessing from elders to juniors. Some gave money, some gave food, wishing for safety and smooth sailing. The form didn’t matter, only the heart.
After leaving Zhu Enfu’s house, Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli went to the houses of Zhu Guifu, Zhu Caifu, Zhu Yanfu, and Zhu Xiongfu in order.
"An Ni, do we really have to go to Fourth Grandpa’s house first?" Zhu Yanli disliked Zhu Guifu from the bottom of her heart. People said distant relatives were not close. Perhaps it was the principle that distance makes things seem better. Their family got along well with the other branches, except for Zhu Guifu’s.